Vande Velde crashes into Missouri fire hydrant. Tutorial needed.

Twisted Spoke was saddened to hear that one of our favorite riders, Christian Vande Velde, crashed hard at the end of stage 1 in the Tour of Missouri. No, he did not hit the famous gateway arch. He did collide with several riders and then hit a fire hydrant. In Vande Velde’s own words, “Racing is going to be painful. It could have been a lot worse.” We assume he means he could have hit an entire fire truck.

The popular Chicago rider of Garmin Slipstream has had a miserable year of crashes and injuries. This latest run-in cost Vande Velde a broken bone in his hand. So for Christian’s benefit — and all the other riders in the pro peloton — we’re showing this instructional video on How To Jump A Fire Hydrant.

We wish Vande Velde a speedy recovery and a lot more luck in the future.